CDV announces the North American edition of DarkStar One has lifted off, and
that Ascaron's space combat game is now available in stores like the German
version that preceded it. An English playable demo for the game has been
available since the end of June (story), and here's word:

CDV
Software Entertainment USA is proud to announce that DarkStar One, the epic
space adventure developed by Ascaron, has shipped to North American retail.
DarkStar One puts players in the spacesuit of a young hotshot pilot as he
struggles to understand the mystery surrounding the death of his father, while
also uncovering the secrets of the mysterious ship – the DarkStar One.

DarkStar One, lauded as “the best game of its kind” by key North American media,
is an open-ended action/adventure title set in a huge universe populated by a
variety of unique alien races. Players will take on the role of an intrepid
young adventurer, Kayron Jarvis, as he explores space, upgrading and customizing
his ship – the DarkStar One. The game's story, written by renowned German
Fantasy and Science Fiction author Claudia Kern, will immerse players in a tale
of action and intrigue as Kayron searches for answers surrounding the death of
his father.

I agree with Slinky on Freelancer. I dont know if it was because they wanted to do an arcade game for the masses or if its because Chris Roberts left before it was finished.IMO the space sim genre has been dead since X-Wing Alliance and Freespace 2. Privateer couldnt be touched either, not even by Privateer 2 (it was actually worse than Freelancer and all other kinds like it).Thats really sad...

DSO isnt that great either. Surely no Elite or Privateer. Its also much more like an arcade game. Very simple and the systems all look the same and you cant explore AT ALL. You get into the system and see everything thats there. Even "hidden" stuff shows on your HUD as soon as youre in the system (even the mission objective is in sight). Cant even land on planets.Combat is pretty simple and very easy aswell.Its kinda nice but it cant get close to Privateer. Kinda weird since Privateer is 10 years or so old...

If I had to compare Freelancer to DSO, I would say they are pretty similar to each other. DSO has prolly the better storyline, but all in all they aim at the same people. People that just want to shoot things up and do other very simple and limited things.Thinking? Tactical moves? You wont need to (and wont be able to) do that in DSO, just like it was the case with Freelancer.Though Freelancer is much better in one aspect: You could actually explore the systems, even though it was very limited. In DSO you can do it too, but you will find NOTHING.